Bid to open Lidl in Ripon wins support of city council
Plans for a Lidl supermarket in Ripon have won the support of the city council.
Council leader Andrew Williams described a planning application by the German supermarket chain as a ‘win, win, win, situation’.
He said:
“It will bring 40 new jobs, increase choice for Ripon’s residents and also serve our growing population, with the new homes that we have coming on stream.”
Cllr Williams was speaking at last week’s full city council meeting at which he and fellow members supported Lidl’s planning application.
Lidl will join M&S Food at St Michael’s Retail Park if its plans are approved.
Harrogate Borough Council will decide whether to accept Lidl’s application to open a 1,100 square metre store at the £10 million St Michael’s Retail Park.
But the backing of Ripon City Council suggests there is support locally for the plan.
The Rotary Way site, off the bypass, is already home to a Marks & Spencer Food outlet, which opened last July.
Ripon, with a population of 17,000-plus and growing, is well-served by supermarkets, with Aldi, Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s also trading in the city.
Lidl put forward its Ripon proposal following an online consultation.
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Following the consultation, a spokesperson from Lidl GB said:
“Many people have welcomed the proposed Lidl store, which would bring competition, increasing choice and providing a boost to the local economy through job creation.
“Many also mentioned that a store on this site would reduce the need to travel out of the city to shop and therefore keep expenditure in Ripon.”
The supermarket has also submitted an application to open its first Harrogate store on the site of the former Lookers car dealership on Knaresborough Road.
Harrogate M&S faces complaints about non-essential salesHarrogate’s central Marks and Spencer store is facing complaints from residents and traders about its non-essential sales.
The store has closed off a large section of the store and the upper floor. But it still has some clothing, beauty and homeware on sale.
Parts of the menswear section is now on the Cambridge Street floor, which has traditionally been solely for womenswear.
The store only has parts of the store open which customers need to use to get down to the food section on the lower floor.
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This has been a national debate during the three lockdowns. Supermarkets can sell non-essential goods alongside food.
Welsh supermarkets came under scrutiny after some sectioned off parts they deemed non-essential, including women’s sanitary products.
Some residents and sole-traders believe it is unfair for any stores to sell non-essential goods while small independent stores cannot – especially a store in the town centre.
Local David Andrews wrote a letter to the chief executive of M&S and shared the letter with the Stray Ferret. He said:
“I believe this [is] contrary to the guidelines and has given [M&S] an unfair advantage over competitors.
“It was permitted to open because of the food hall on the lower ground floor, served by its primary access from Oxford Street.
“Why does M&S need to open the Cambridge Street entrance at all when the Oxford Street entrance accesses the food hall directly?
“One might say it wants to continue trading in clothes and this loophole about secondary access allows them to do so.”
A sole trader based in Harrogate, who wanted to remain anonymous, also told the Stray Ferret:
“Somebody must be able to as this is so unfair. I am sole trader and this inconsistency is driving me mad.
“Why can you not get them to follow the guidance which suits this store to a tee as it’s actually states non-essential floors should be closed.
“What’s the point of having guidance if it can’t be used. I’m sure it was written for a reason.”
M&S disputes any allegations that it is not following the rules. A spokesperson said in response:
“Our M&S Foodhalls remain open to provide our customers with the essential items they require during this time.
“In line with Government guidelines, we’ve closed our non-food floors except where they provide access to our Foodhalls.”
M&S buyout set to bring closure of Harrogate Jaeger storeMarks & Spencer’s buyout of Jaeger is expected to lead to the permanent closure of the fashion brand’s remaining stores, including the one in Harrogate.
M&S workers were seen this afternoon clearing stock from the Jaeger store on Cambridge Crescent and removing objects from the windows.
The future of the Harrogate store has been uncertain since November, when Jaeger and its sister company Peacocks went into administration.
Other brands have been in talks with Jaeger’s administrators for months but no deal had been reached.
The deal with M&S is still being finalised but is expected to include Jaeger’s intellectual property and not its 63 stores, leaving jobs at risk.
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M&S did not confirm, when questioned by the Stray Ferret, whether its deal would save Jaeger’s existing stores.
In a M&S statement, Richard Price, managing director of M&S clothing and home, said:
“We have set out our plans to sell complementary third party brands as part of our Never the Same Again programme to accelerate our transformation and turbocharge online growth.
“In line with this, we have bought the Jaeger brand and are in the final stages of agreeing the purchase of product and supporting marketing assets.
“We expect to fully complete later this month.”
M&S confirms opening date for Ripon food storeMarks and Spencer has announced that it will open the doors to its food store in Ripon next month.
The new shop will open for the first time at 10am on July 15 and has created around 60 jobs in the town. It will be open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm, and on Sunday from 11am to 5pm.
It was originally due to open at the end of April but it was delayed because of coronavirus.
The M&S Food Store is part of the £10 million Saint Michael’s Retail Park development which was also delayed.
Ripon is currently served by four supermarkets – Aldi, Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
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Store Manager, Paul Nicoll, has worked at M&S for 34 years and said he was looking forward to getting to know the local community:
“My team and I are really excited about our new store in Ripon. We’ll be working hard to provide outstanding service and help make every penny count for the community.”
What the food hall interior will look like.
As well as food, customers will also be able to shop for M&S’s full clothing and home collections through the click and collect service.
Mark Rothery, Managing Director of Rothstone Estates, said:
“Announcing the opening date is a really exciting milestone in the project. I would like to thank the Ripon community for their support and continued patience as we work hard with all parties to deliver this great investment in the city.”
Marks & Spencer likely to open Ripon store in mid JulyMarks & Spencer is likely to open its M&S Food store in Ripon in mid July, The Stray Ferret understands.
The M&S store, on Rotary Way, was originally due to open on April 29 but that was put on hold because of coronavirus.
It is part of the £10 million Saint Michael’s Retail Park development. A spokesperson for M&S said:
“We’re working hard to finish our Ripon store and as soon as we have more information on the opening we will update the community.”
The new store, located close to the Ripon bypass, was first granted planning permission by Harrogate Borough Council in 2017. It will provide up to 80 new jobs, including people who have been recruited locally.
Ripon is currently served by four supermarkets – Aldi, Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s.
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German budget supermarket Lidl, which already has a store in Chain Lane, Knaresborough, has announced that it plans to open up to 89 new stores in Yorkshire and has Harrogate and Ripon on its list, saying:
The company, which is hoping to double the number of stores it has in the UK added, that it was looking for ‘prominent sites in town, district, edge of centre or out of town locations, ideally with main road frontage with easy access and strong pedestrian or traffic flow.’
“We want to double our portfolio. To continue our phenomenal growth we require further sites across the country.”
The proposed locations for Lidl stores in Ripon and Harrogate is not as yet known.